Saint John Sea Dogs defenseman Simon Despres had one of his better games at the World Junior Hockey Championships in a 4-1 quarter-final victory over Switzerland yesterday afternoon at HSBC Arena.
Despres played a key part in the game, assisting on Casey Cizikas’ game winning goal in the second period.
“Simon Despres fed the puck up ice to Carter Ashton who had Casey Cizikas with him on a 2 on 1 opportunity,” NHL.com describes the play. “Cizikas patiently read Conz and snapped one over his shoulder to give the Canadians a 2-1 lead after 40 minutes.”
Along with his helper, the ‘Big Horse’ had three shots on goal and a +2 rating. He now has three assists in the tournament. Despres was also the victim of a big hit, a hit that saw him earn some hang time.
Inti Pestoni opened the scoring for the Swiss at 1:09 of the first period, giving the underdogs a surprising 1-0 lead. Canadian goaltender Mark Visentin allowed the brutal goal as the puck just snuck between his skate and the post. Visentin made some nice saves, but was noticeably shaky at times much like Olivier Roy has been.
The Canucks tied the match at on a power play at 15:06 with Ryan Johansen recording his second goal of the tournament. In the second, Cizikas gave his squad a 2-1 lead before Louis Leblanc scored an insurance marker in the third period. Zack Kassian closed out the scoring with an empty net goal, making it a 4-1 final.
Swiss goaltender Benjamin Conz was unreal in goal, stopping 46 of 49 shots.
HIGHLIGHTS
DANGLE’S RECAP
OPEN ICE HOCKEY RECAP
THE SLOVAKIA GAME
Tomas Jurco and the Slovaks opened the relegation round with a 5-0 blowout win over Norway. Captain Richard Panik had a hat trick while Gatineau Olympiques defenseman Adam Janosik had two assists.
Jurco had no points, a zero rating, and a one shot on goal.
TODAY
It’s the match everyone has been waiting for – Canada versus the United States in a rematch of last year’s gold medal game. Game time is 8:30 pm AST with TSN beginning their coverage at 8:00 pm.
The semi-final matchup could be a dandy if their last few meetings mean anyting. The winner will go to Wednesday’s gold medal game.
That’s about all you need to know.
The other semi-final goes down this afternoon with Russia taking on Sweden.
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